Foundation garment



1949 J. CIRINGIONE FOUNDATION GARMENT 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed NOV. 6, 1947 IZVVENTOR. Joseph Ginnymne l949v J. ClRINGlONE I 2,490,415

FOUNDATION GARMENT Filed Nov. 6, 1947 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 ]1 VVEN TOR. Jasepk Girl/(940m? @KWC ATTORNEY Dec. 6, 1949 J. CIRINGIONE 2,490,415

FOUNDATION GARMENT Filed Nov. 6, 1947 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 'INZ/EN T 0R. Joseph CZIZ flymne WWQ ' ATTORNEY Patented Dec. 6, 1949 UNITED STATES FOUNDATION GARMENT New York Application November 6, 1947,, Serial No. 784,346

This invention relates to girdles, corsets, polo belts and other supports generally classified as .toundation garments.

It is primarily within the contemplation of my invention to provide a foundation garment capable of firmly embracing and moulding the waistline, and yet' permitting freedom of movement. And in this aspect of my invention it is an important object to provide a supporting garment of this category with a resilient waist portion capable of providing a gentle yiel-dable pressure in the region of the waistline, and at the same time producing a firm hugging of the hip portion of the wearer.

It is a further important object of this invention to provide the resilient waist portion abovementioned with a restrainingloand so constructed [as to permit the necessary stretching or yielding of the upper portion of the garment, with a progressively reduced amount of stretching along the lower portion thereof, thereby producing a two-fold effect--first, a pivotal inward movement of the lower rear portion of the garment while the upper portion is stretched outwardly laterally, and second, a resistance against sagging of the upper stretched resilient edge.

It is a further object of this invention to provide a simple, readily fabricated and inexpensive garment capable of perfiorming the functions hereinabove mentioned.

Other objects, features and advantages-will appear from the drawings andithe description hereinafter given.

Referring tothe drawings,

Figure 1 is a rear view of agirdl'e embodying a preferred form of my invention, shown in its unstrained condition.

' Figure 2 is a fragmentary rear view of the garment of Fig. 1, shown in i8, strained or stretched condition.

Figure 3 is a rear view another form of my invention, showing an upper'rearsection laterally elastic, and a lower adjoining rear section-vertically elastic.

Figure 4 is a fragmentary-rear view-"of still another form of my. invention, wherein the restraining means consists of two converging and intersecting lines of stitching.

Figure 5 is a fragmentary rearview of another modification, wherein the restraining means consists of an elastic insert of stifler material and more resistant elasticity than the upper elastic section.

Figure 6 is a; fragmentary rear view of still an.- othermodification of my invention, wherein the.

9 Claims. (01. 2-37) restraining means consists of an inelastic linin at the rear of the resilient upper portion.

Figure '7 is a vertical section of Fig. 6 taken along line 1'l, and

Figure 8 is a fragmentary rear view of another form of my invention substantially like that oi Fig. 2, but with a restraining portion of rounded configuration.

The essence of my invention resides in 1a, struc-. ture containing a resilient upper rear section or: band; that is laterally elastic, this band extending in the region of thewaist line, and provided. with restraining means extending upwardly from thebottom edge of the band to a predetermined point below :the upper edge thereof. In the preferred form of m invention, the said upwardlyextending restraining means consists of a section that is inelastic, or that offers greater resistance to stretching than the resilient band, :the restraining section preferably exend-ing upwardly with converging lateral sides from a relatively wide base at the lower medial portion of the band. The said restraining means may be of various forms and constructions, some of which are illustrated, for exemplary purposes, in the various drawings of this specification.

In the form illustrated in Fig. l, the girdle shown comprises a body-embracing memberhaving a front section 9, an upper rear-laterally elastic resilient 'band It, two side sections it and I2, both being laterally elastic, a lower rear inelastic panel l3 adjoining the :band I0; an upwardly extending inelastic section l4 constituting the re straining means of my invention, and stays l5 and 56 extending downwardly through at least a portion of band It and panel [-3.

In this form of my invention the restraining section It is a continuation of panel [-3, being of inelastic material and containingtw lateral edges I? and I8 converging upwardly from the lower edges E9 of band Ill, and meeting at apex '20 a predetermined distance below the upper edge 2! of band It. The said stays l5- and I 6 are 0t conventional structure, and are preferably contained within suitable pockets for the purpose.

When the garment of Figure 1' is applied to a wearer, and subjected to a stretch as indicated in Fig. 2, the upper edge 2| of the band will he increasedin length from its original dimension shown in Fig. 1 to the length A of Fig. 2; and similarly the distance 'between the upper ends of the stays l5 and i6 wil1 be greater than in the un strained condition of the garment, length B indicating the stretched dimension. In this stretched or strained condition, it 113811088111 found 3 that a pivotal effect is produced, whereby while the upper portion of the rear of the garment and the upper portion of the stays are moved laterally outwardly, the lower portions are moved laterally inwardly. The lower portions of stays l5 and I6 accordingly converge inwardly as indicated in Fig. 2, and the entire lower portion of the garment exerts an inward pressure against the hips, whereas the upper portion is stretched to accommodate the waist of the wearer. The lateral stretohability of side sections H and i2 .permit this action to take place without distorting the garment and without discomfiture to the wearer.

The above result is rendered possible by virtue of the fact that section I4 provides a maximum restraining efiort upon the lower portion of elastic band l9, and a constantly decreasing restraining effort upwardly to the point 20. The extension of said section It upwardly into the region of band In up to said apex 26 also has a restraining effect upon the portion of the band above the apex, although not to the same extent as upon the portion therebelow. The net result is that the restraining infiuence of section [4 upon band I0 is progressively increasing in magnitude from the upper edge 2| to the lower edges I9, thereby producing the pivotal efiect above described. Furthermore, due to the fact that there actually is an inelastic portion, or less elastic portion, below the bands edge 2|, there will be sufiicient resistance to a stretching of said upper edge to prevent its sagging, a defect often found in many elastic :bands of this general category.

Figure 3 is substantially like Fig. 1, except that the lower rear panel I3a. is not inelastic, but is rather vertically elastic, as indicated by the arrow. Furthermore, the stays 22 and 23 do not extend vertically down along the major portion of the lower panel, as in Fig. 1, but are rather inclined in direction, intersecting the lower edges l9 of band It and extending only across the upper lateral portions of panel l3a. This is a form of girdle more particularly adapted for youthful figures. In this form of construction, the restraining section Ma, not being laterally stretchable, is the equivalent of the inelastic section M of Fig. 1, having a similar restraining influence against the lateral stretching of section It]. Although there are no stays extending down to the bottom of lower panel l3a, it is nevertheless otherwise similar in action to the structure of Fig. 1 in the converging effect hereinabove described.

In Fig. 4, the laterally stretchable rear band 24 has a single straight lower edge 25 extending horizontally across the lower panel 26. However, there are two lines of stitching 2'! and 28 which extend in converging relation upwardly from said edge 25. It has been found that the triangular section 29 formed by the said inelastic stitches 21 and 28 and the inelastic stitches 39 along lower edge 25 serve to restrict the stretching of said section 29, thereby producing a restraining effect substantially like that of the two forms hereinabove described.

In Fig. 5, the lower panel 26 is like that of Fig. 4, and the laterally elastic band 3| is substantially like that of Fig. 1. However, the re straining section 32 is a separate insert attached to panel 26 along edge 33, and to band 3| along converging edges 34 and 35. This section 32 is of elastic material also, but of greater resistence to stretching than the elastic material of band 3|; Although the restraining effect of member 32 will be less than that of inelastic section I4 4 of Fig. 1, for example, it nevertheless does exert a restraining influence substantially in the manner above described.

Figures 6 and 7 illustrate another form of my invention in which the rear panel 26 and the laterally stretchable upper band 36 are substantially like that of Fig. 4, the band and panel meeting at the seam 31. However, the rear of band 36 is provided with an inelastic triangular lining 38, sewed on by suitable stitching. This section 38 similarly serves as a restraining element in the manner aforesaid.

Figure 8 illustrates a form of my invention substantially like that of Fig. 3, having a rear lower panel l3b and a laterally stretchable rear band lllb. But the restraining section [4b, instead of having lateral sides converging to a point, has an upper substantially rounded portion 39. The lateral sides 40 and 4|, however, are sloping inwardly and upwardly, thereby producing a progressively decreasing restraining influence from the lower portion of the band [0b upwardly.

In the above description, the invention has been disclosed merely by way of example and in preferred manner; but obviously many variations and modifications may be made therein which will still be comprised within its spirit. It is to be understood, therefore, that the invention is not limited to any specific form or manner of practicing same, except in so far as such limitations are specified in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. In a foundation garment, a body embracing member having a front section and a rear section, the rear section containing an elastic band adapted for positioning inthe region of the wearers waist, said band being elastic in a lateral direction only, and a restraining member extending upwardly a predetermined distance from the bottom edge of the band along the medial portion thereof, whereby the amount of lateral stretching of the band will be reduced along a vertical distance substantially equal to the height of the restraining member.

2. In a foundation garment, the combination according to claim 1, the restraining member being of progressively decreasing width from the bottom upwardly.

3. In a foundation garment, a body embracing member having a front section and a rear section, the rear section containing an elastic band adapted for positioning in the region of the wearers waist, said band being elastic in a lateral direction only, and a restraining member extending upwardly a predetermined distance from the bottom edge of the band along the medial portion thereof, whereby the amount of lateral stretching of the band will be reduced along a vertical distance substantially equal to the height of the restraining member, the restraining member being of progressively decreasing width from the bottom upwardly, the restraining member being of relatively inelastic material.

4. In a foundation garment, a body embracing member having a front section and a rear section, the rear section containing an elastic band adapted for positioning in the region of the wearers waist, said band being elastic in a lateral direction only, and a restraining member extending upwardly a predetermined distance from the bottom edge of the band along the medial portion thereof, whereby the amount of lateral stretching of the band will be reduced along a vertical distance substantially equal to the height of the restraining member, the restraining member being of progressively decreasing width from the bottom upwardly, the restraining member offering greater resistance to lateral stretching than the band.

5. In a foundation garment, a body embracing member having a front section and a rear section, the rear section containing an upper laterally elastic band adapted for positioning in the region of the wearers waist, a lower panel adjoining the band, and two side sections flanking said panel and adjoining said band, said panel containing an upper medial restraining portion with converging sides extending upwardly above the lower edge of the band to a predetermined level below the upper edge thereof, said upper edge of said band being free for expansion.

6. In a foundation garment, the combination according to claim 5, the said panel and said restraining portion being of inelastic material.

7. In a foundation garment, the combination according to claim 6, the said side sections being of laterally elastic material.

8. In a foundation garment, the combination according to claim 5, the said panel and said restraining portion being of vertically elastic material.

9. In a foundation garment, a body embracing member having a front section, side sections and REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,805,133 Duff May 12, 1931 2,124,405 Siegel July 19, 1938 2,169,585 Kops Aug. 15, 1939 2,366,032 Jasper Dec. 26, 1944 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 109,698 Australia Feb. 8, 1940 

